Sunday, January 08, 2017

Fantastic evening in Karlstad

So, Friday last was a very rare event for me – I actually went to a live ‘pop performance’ given by famous folk. Rare? Yeah, probably about only the 3rd time I have ever done it in my life!!! Had it not been for a singer guy I know, Dick Johansson who so kindly invited me along, I would have missed one of the best nights I have ever had in my life.

like many englishman, I fell in love with Abba and their melodic ‘make sense lyrics’ songs still sit close to consciousness in the memory.

It was an evening of incredible highlights and following the show the highlights just increased in luminescence – for what could be better than a good meal in good company in a place with a good ambience? Totally by accident – or as I prefer to think by destiny – we tumbled into a place called

translated it means ‘Golden Monkey’. As well as being an award at the Swedish Hit Music Awards the monkey has an incredible tradition in the cultures and mythology around the world. One meaning/significance is found in astrology signs – where it means ‘ fun, activity,charm and an energetic nature’. The Guldapan restaurant was all of these – plus a lot more.

Amongst a varied menu we found such “mundane” items as sausage and mash and a beefburger with gruyere cheese. However,to describe what we recieved as mundane is an abuse of language. I always love it when you think you have ordered a ‘run of the mill’ thing and what you get turns out to be – well, an extraordinary feast for the mind as well at the palate.

The sausage? Home made…and the best I have tasted anywhere in 30 years of being in Scandinavia.

The beefburger? Home made – pure lean beef, no fat (and I’m really fussy about that) very thick.

I also had --- chips (well,I am English). For me you can judge the standard of a place by the chips it makes, because chips are regarded so much as just an ordinary thing most places don’t really bother to produce good ones. NOT GULDAPAN, even the chips were amazing!

An incredible range of drinks, amazing range of beers and when I asked for a low alcohol beer the very friendly guy behind the bar rattled off a list so fast I couldn’t count them all. So I simply asked what he recommended (not always a good question to ask,huh?).With a refreshing honesty that matched the superb refreshing quality of the beer I got, he told me that he drinks Mikkeller Drink’in the Sun. So I had one, then I had another. It was a totally enjoyable taste experience.

This is a restaurant where the staff are..and I mean this…super friendly and exceedingly diligent. It has a friendly ambience….and food that ranks in my top 5 experiences for excellence in Scandinavia in the last 30 years.

The only problem with telling you this is…I might not be able to get a table next time I want to go! But then, the good things in life just get ‘gooderer’ the more they are shared, huh?